Top 122 Quotes & Sayings by Jimmy Smits
Explore popular quotes and sayings by an American actor Jimmy Smits.
Last updated on December 3, 2024.
How come actors feel like they have to give some kind of personal revelation attached to the project?
Michael C. Hall is an incredibly detailed actor who can convey so much with just an eyebrow.
It's less about the physical training, in the end, than it is about the mental preparation: boxing is a chess game. You have to be skilled enough and have trained hard enough to know how many different ways you can counterattack in any situation, at any moment.
I couldn't see myself doing a traditional sitcom.
I'm an actor. I love to act. That's my job. I'll leave the politicking to others.
I am a firm believer in education and have worked very hard to tell young Latinos that they must go to college and that, if possible, they should pursue an advanced degree. I am convinced that education is the great equalizer.
I work out, but I'm not doing it specifically because I show my butt on TV.
The hits and the misses. I just want to keep the at-bats solid.
I've always strived to keep mixing it up, keep doing different things, and work in all different parts of our business.
I've been in California for about 15 years now. You're always in your car and insulated. I miss New York so much.
'West Wing' was a show about politics.
If you're afraid to live your life in a glass bubble, how can you do what we do in this industry?
For minority actors, developing our own projects has to be the eventual path. We have a lot of stories to tell and a really unique voice. But none of that is going to be heard as long as we're just the hired hands, acting.
The friendships I made on 'L.A. Law,' with the cast and Steven Bochco and David Kelley were really wonderful.
When you have celebrity, it's a whole different thing than being an artist.
Women think the people that I play are smoldering and dangerous. I look in the mirror, and I go, 'I don't get it.'
I'm not a policy wonk - I'm somewhere between being undecided and a surrogate.
My career aspirations as an actor have always been driven foremost by the creative desire to be versatile.
It just makes you feel proud, more than anything else, that the work has in some way transcended itself.
We're at a point right now in our development in this country - setting the immigration issue aside - that you can't ignore the sheer population of us in metropolitan areas all across the country, of how significant Latino-ness is in the United States.
I never thought television would or could be a long-term commitment.
I feel a responsibility to try and give back. I see young people out there who are trained, and any way I can help them and give them an opportunity is gratifying.
I used to wear sneakers with those nice suits because I wanted Victor Sifuentes to have a bounce in the courtroom.
As an actor and as a performer, I've felt that the education system has really helped me in a lot of ways... there was always a teacher or a professor along the way that kept pushing me to the next stage.
The Latino population has become such a presence. We are part of the American tapestry in a very profound way, in every area you can think of, and are very significant in popular culture.
Everything in moderation, like calories.
In my college years, I worked as a union labor organizer. I was just one of the many workers trying to do my part to help the community.
There are some things you have to give up to the higher power.
When we are out there selling a new picture, when did it become part of the deal that you have to sell the family? To use the juicy part of your life to get attention? I'm not blaming the reporters. It's the system.
You can't get so serious as to not realize that what we do is entertainment, but when you have the chance to provoke thought or advance discussion on a topic, it's just the icing on the cake.
It's a lot of pressure. Some of the cast wants a StairMaster on the set so you can work out like crazy before your naked scene.
There's something so familial and intimate between a boxer and his trainer.
Education is the key in so many ways.
You gotta find that hook so everybody can grab on to it. So that you're true to the culture but, at the same time, how it relates to the larger tapestry.
I was in Puerto Rico going to school, and it was very jarring for me. 'Traumatic' is the only way that I can say it. Kids were making fun of me: 'Oh, you're a Yankee.' And I acted out a lot. A lot. But looking back, and through a little bit of therapy, everything I am has to do with that time.
I grew up in New York City, and I've got wonderful memories of the Fourth of July fireworks.
Unfortunately, considering that we Latinos are really big for movie companies when they have blockbuster releases or new cable shows, when it comes to the dynamic of supporting our own product, it leaves much to be desired.
If you're given gifts or blessings in your life, it's up to you to help the guy coming up behind you.
I had opportunities to stay on shows for long periods of time, and maybe financially that would have been good, but I feel good about trying to keep doing things that are a little bit different than what I've done.
Of course you draw from yourself, but the artistic nourishment you want to get is be versatile, do something different, and I think I got a chance to do that in a lot of different ways.
I started out in the theater, and my background is classical. I'd love to be in a film version of a Shakespeare play.
It's great to be able to play the 'bad guy' role, because you always get a lot to do, but I'm always looking at the why - how does a person get to that particular point.
The Fourth of July concert is invigorating in so many ways, in terms of what it feels like to be an American.
Media images are so important to young people feeling positive about themselves.
I save the rage for the stage.
I went to Brooklyn College as an education major. It was a big deal in the family, but really, I was living for Mom and Dad.
I like the gypsy aspect of this business.
I've been very lucky to work on a wide variety of projects, including two long-run and top-10 dramatic television shows. That is why it is so important to offer a helping hand to the next generation of young Latinos coming up behind me.
I almost feel like sometimes when I'm on location, you miss your home and your family and all that stuff, but it keeps you focused on the work.
Nude scenes aren't fun.
I worked on a show called 'West Wing' before. I didn't work with Aaron Sorkin, but he created the show and set the tenor of the show, which was you follow the words of the script perfectly because there's a dramaturgical thing behind it.
There are no right and wrong ways to work in this business, but there are some basic common-sense practices. Work very, very hard and always be prepared; never give up; and once you get the job, give them more than they ever expected: - Shine!
You have to find what makes you stable in the storm. Then, no matter what's happening round you, no matter what the hype or the publicity, you can still manage to make leaps in your work as an artist.
Celebrity hits like a bomb.
I'm socially awkward in life, and that's one of the reasons why I do what I do. I'm more about interpreting other people's words.
I have no tattoos at all - it was a huge undertaking for me in the '80s to let my parents know I was piercing my ear when I did 'L.A. Law.'
Just give me a good role that allows me to hone my craft, and I am a pretty happy camper.
When I sit down and sign up for something, I vet where the people are coming from.
I have and will continue to vigorously pursue opportunities in all mediums.
As an actor, I just want to keep mixing it up.
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